ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 18, 1996 TAG: 9612180063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCKOLS STAFF WRITER
ROANOKE COUNTY won't continue a service that benefits less than 15 percent of the residents who are paying for it. Could a regional recycling program be on the horizon?
The 3,700 households in Roanoke County that have curbside recycling will lose that service unless a plan for regional recycling comes together within three months.
County supervisors said Tuesday that they will ask the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority, which operates the regional landfill, to study a regional program that would include Roanoke and Vinton. County Administrator Elmer Hodge said the county's ultimate goal is to have the authority collect trash and recyclable materials for the region. That would require approval by the city and town.
Roanoke County was the first county in Virginia to begin a curbside recycling program. From 1987 until 1990, the number of homes receiving the service grew from 1,800 to 3,700, but the county hasn't expanded the program in six years. Now, supervisors say they won't continue a service that benefits less than 15 percent of its trash customers but is funded by tax revenues from all county residents.
"It is politically correct to recycle but we're not providing the service to all county residents who are paying for it," said Vinton Supervisor Harry Nickens.
Hodge had no cost estimates for the regional program, which he said would involve construction of a building where recyclable materials could be separated for sale.
If the resource authority doesn't come up with a regional plan, Hodge recommended that the county increase the number of drop-off sites from four to 10 in lieu of the existing curbside program. That would cost about $75,000, but he recommended that the supervisors turn the service over to a private company if they go that route.
Supervisors rejected countywide curbside recycling, which Hodge estimated would mean $1million to $1.34 million in start-up costs for trucks and recycling bins and would push the county's annual recycling budget from $85,280 to more than $300,000.
The county already has cut back on its recycling services. It stopped taking glass this year when its recycling truck broke down. Bill Rand, director of general services, said the recycling truck had more than 1 million miles on it and could not be repaired. County officials chose to use a trash truck for collections rather than buy a new one with separate bins that could handle glass.
John Hubbard, executive director of the resource authority, said his board cannot study recycling without approval from Roanoke and Vinton. However, he said the board is interested in regional recycling, and he expressed optimism that a proposal could be put together by late March.
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